Cataclysm of the Heart
by IHeartSonAmy
Summary: She'd waited so long to hear those words fall from his perfect lips, she'd never even stopped to consider that they might not be sincere. They were going to die. He'd been sure of it. It had only been meant as a comfort. Something to keep a smile on her face as their end loomed. Neither of them had counted on being rescued.
1. Chapter 1

**Cataclysm of the Heart**

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

 _She'd waited so long to hear those words fall from his perfect lips, she'd never even stopped to consider that they might not be sincere.  
They were going to die. He'd been sure of it. It had only been meant as a comfort. Something to keep a smile on her face as their end loomed.  
Neither of them had counted on being rescued._

* * *

Panic surged through him, electric and unforgiving as the water crashed in around him. Higher and higher it rose, sloshing around his legs as it filled up the tank. The feeling of it sent unpleasant shivers down his spine as he attacked the glass with full force.

Sonic had made a rookie mistake when he'd unwittingly walked into a trap set by Eggman. The glass tank that had risen up from the ground and locked into the ceiling had seemingly come from nowhere - an invisible trap.

That had been his first mistake.

The second had been not noticing the dark faucets that circled the top of the tank. At least not until the water began to fill it up and it was too late to disable them.

Still he fought. The spin dashes turned to kicks turned to pounding against the glass with his fists. All to no avail.

Sonic's knuckles were bruised and burning, yet he continued to hit the clear barrier with the little strength he could muster. He cursed when it refused to so much as scratch under his assault. What the hell was this stuff reinforced with?

The cold water crept up the base of his throat and his breath quickened. He gulped involuntarily as the water clung to his scarf, pulling at his neck. He tugged the wet fabric away from him and threw it to the side. Even he knew that the extra weight would only drown him faster.

The discarded scarf floated across the surface of the water in a spill of brown and for a split second, the blue hedgehog found himself wondering if perhaps he would do the same. Float effortlessly atop the rising water ... or sink like a stone.

His rings were on the latter, though he'd no doubt find out soon enough.

Within seconds he would be completely submerged, and with no sense of how to swim, it was getting harder and harder to push away the rising terror inside. Harder to stem the fear that was so deeply rooted in him. To stop that voice yelling inside his head.

 _Get out. Get out. Get out._

His heart thundered in his chest as the liquid rose to his chin. He pushed up onto his tip toes and threw his head back, gaining himself a few precious seconds. His hands uncurled from their fists and instead of attacking the glass, he splayed his fingers against it. Bracing himself.

There was no more time.

He managed to take a deep lungful of air before the water claimed him.

* * *

Her world was devastation incarnate.

Her heart - cleaved into two desolate halves. Each piece aching and wounded.

It had been ten days since the world had almost come to an end. Ten long hard days of rebuilding and reforging the world around them, trying to find some semblance of normality.

Her world, her life; everything had been broken and torn to shreds by Eggman's latest scheme. One that almost destroyed the very ground she stood on.

Luck.

Pure damn luck that right at the time Eggman was preparing to fire his realm destroying cannon, so high above them that even Sonic had no chance of reaching it in time, something had gone wrong. Some crossed wire or unruly robot had corrupted the initiation sequence and prevented it from going off at all.

Of course, that hadn't happened until after the smaller cannons had laid waste to half of Station Square. Her home had survived the initial blast, but the earthquakes that had followed in the aftermath had made it too unstable.

They hadn't been able to save everyone.

When it mattered, when Mobius had needed its heroes most, they had not been able to do a single damn thing to protect them.

Still.

The people endured. They picked up their lives from the rubble, dusted themselves off and moved forward. Eggman had of course vanished without a trace. He had abandoned his cannon and Tail's had gathered together a team to dismantle it for good.

The world was recovering.

Slowly but surely people were moving on from the horrific attack, fixing the tears Eggman had ripped into their lives. All except the ones that couldn't be fixed. That could never be fixed.

Amy stood in amongst a mass of citizens that had gathered atop what remained of the square, now nothing more than rubble, clutching Cream's hand. Knuckles cut a stoic figure beside her as they waited patiently for the mayor to officially begin the vigil for their fallen family and friends.

Amy tried to keep her thoughts blank through the long minutes, but her mind kept drifting back to one thought. How for a brief moment in time, despite the looming threat above them, everything had seemed so perfect.

How for an infinite moment, she had felt so incredibly _happy_. Like she could do anything and everything she wished, and the world could do nothing to stop her. She hadn't cared that they were likely to die at any second. And then, once the dust had settled, reality had come crashing down in a monsoon of regret and hurt.

The boy who hated tears had been the inspiration behind so many that it was almost ironic when she thought about it that way.

Eggman might have destroyed her world, but Sonic the Hedgehog had destroyed her heart.

The mayor arrived on stage and the chattering halted. The silence became a solid presence around them as the man stood far ahead, solemn but not broken as he delivered a powerful and heart wrenching speech about hope and solidarity.

The speech ended.

Candles were lit.

Held up for those who should have been standing there beside them.

Amy held her candle up high despite the wind, shining a bright light on the darkness of a tragedy that never should have come to pass. Words weren't enough to heal what had broken inside her, but she would be there for everyone who needed her.

Her throat was tight as she tried to hold back the tears. Tried so hard to be strong for those around her - but it was no use. At the slightest look from the young rabbit beside her, hot tears streamed down her face and blurred her vision.

"It's okay Miss Amy," Cream said from beside her. "Everything will get better." The girl circled her arms around Amy and they were the comfort she needed right then. She felt someone pat her shoulder - Knuckles no doubt.

With a final sniff, Amy pulled away from the rabbit only to see that the crowds were dispersing. It was a lot later than she had thought and the skies had darkened to a deep purple.

"Let's go home," Cream said tugging on her arm and Amy nodded in agreement.

She had only taken a few steps when she crashed into something warm and solid - no, not something. _Someone_.

Dazed from the impact, all she could make out was a deep cerulean and her heart soared. It did somersaults at the thought of the boy she'd just walked into and she hated it. Hated that she still felt so much for him.

A simple memory from their last meeting however was enough to tame it into submission.

"Amy ... hey."

She blinked the tears from her eyes enough to see Sonic watching her cautiously, those emerald eyes locked on hers with concern. Beautifully endless.

 _Damn_.

Slipping back into loving him would be so easy she realised. _So, so easy._ As comfortable as slipping her favourite golden bracelets on every morning.

But she was stronger than that. She deserved better than to be treated the way she had, and Sonic the Hedgehog would learn that one way or another.

So, with all the courage she could muster, she looked him dead in the eye and spoke the words she thought she'd never have to say.

"Good bye, Sonic."

* * *

 _So, hi. I'm finally doing this and its kinda new and different for me but I hope you enjoy it all the same. Thank you so much for reading!_

 _The story might be a little hard to follow right now, but the first section is a flashback - even in the following chapters - that will eventually catch up to the main story underneath (if that makes sense?) It's kinda short but that's just how this story seems to be flowing for me, short sharp bursts._

 _Thanks again, and I'll see you lovelies next time. Chao :)_


	2. Chapter 2

**Cataclysm of the Heart**

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

The water roared down his ears, amplifying the beating of his own heart as it hammered in his chest. Cold panic began to settle into his bones as Sonic realised he was submerged fully, the water running over his skin like a spreading fire.

It wasn't burning.

The sane and logical parts of his mind knew that, reinforced that even.

And yet his fear won him over.

No matter how much he told himself that water couldn't burn him, nothing could stop the hot searing feeling that crawled over his skin at the thought. All he wanted to do was to scratch at it, to bat every drop of water coating his fur until he was bone dry.

If he didn't find a way out quickly then he'd probably end up driving himself mad. He needed to get out of here, to get to somewhere where just existing didn't drive him crazy. He needed to get somewhere he could _breathe_.

 _Escape._

That was the only word he let through the barriers in his mind as he began to search for a way out. Sonic was fairly surprised that even through everything going on, he could still somehow see through the water. Not completely, but enough for him to gauge that there was some sort of movement going on beyond the glass.

He wasn't so sure why he was surprised by the fact - water was clear after all. But still, it was new for him. Something moved again and Sonic tried to pin point what it was, or who. Eggman? Had he come back expecting to watch Sonic's last living moments. Surely he'd be too busy implementing the next phase of his plan - whatever the hell that was.

Sonic squinted to try and get a better look but the movement of the water as it rushed around inside the tank fractured the image behind the glass. That and the rapid stream of air bubbles that escaped his lips meant he couldn't make out much of anything except maybe a flash of...

No.

No, surely she couldn't be here. But there was no one else that pink belonged to.

His lungs burned as he tried to push closer to the glass, the need for air growing more and more unbearable every second he refused to give in to the impulse. He kept reminding himself that all he would end up with was a lungful of water, not that his body seemed to care.

Already he could feel the light-headedness settling in and blurring the edge of his vision. His body felt heavier than ever as he pushed his nose against the glass roughly, searching for that flash he'd caught earlier. For the girl that would undoubtedly be responsible for it.

Nothing.

The room beyond looked exactly as it had when he had first entered. Pristine and empty.

... and full of sparkling white dots?

It took too long for him to realise what was happening and by the time he did, Sonic's vision was already blacking out as the last of the bubbles rushed from his mouth.

Still he refused to take a breath. What a way to go he thought as his eyes drifted closed and let in the darkness. Drowned in the one thing he detested more than anything in the world. It was almost funny if it wasn't so goddamned true.

He had lost the little air he had managed to capture and now it seemed he had run out of time to find a way out too. But even as his skin burned against the water, his body battled the desire to breathe - Sonic found his thoughts lingering on one thing.

Eggman.

Even in his semi-conscious state, Sonic couldn't help but wonder what the Doctor had hoped to achieve by ending him. He had mentioned that he would destroy the world as they knew it, but what did that mean? Sonic's world or the whole world?

Surely the man wasn't so crazy as to destroy the one thing he wanted most - Mobius. Even as the thought crossed his mind, it was seeming more and more likely that Sonic wouldn't be there to stop him if he had indeed gone insane. But his friends, he knew they could stop him with every fibre of his being.

They would never let the world fall to ruin, with or without him.

That was the last coherent thought he had before his body betrayed him and he let his lungs breathe in, slipping from consciousness as he choked on a mouthful of water

* * *

"Amy ... hey."

The girl stood before him, frozen and still as he met her gaze. He knew he'd see the hurt in those green eyes even before he'd chosen to go looking for her in the crowd, but it was nothing like he had imagined. Seeing the glaze of tears, the pain he knew he was responsible for ... it was a shock to say the least, and it cut him deep.

He hadn't wanted this, for either of them.

He knew it was a bad idea to try and talk to her after the vigil, but she'd left him no choice. He'd tried everything else to get into contact with her but she had either ignored it or had made herself scarce. So much so that even Cream hadn't known where to find her the majority of the time.

If he wanted to explain himself, it would have to be now when she couldn't run and hide. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out and he closed it again, shaking his head. What was he even supposed to say?

Amy watched him struggle to find words with a cold and even gaze but judging from the look on the girls face he doubted she had even noticed he'd tried to say something. He waved a hand to catch her attention and she startled, looking at him as if she had almost forgotten he was there.

"Good bye, Sonic," she said abruptly.

Before he could have a chance to say a single word more to her, the girl turned and walked away. Sonic stood watching her with his mouth hanging open for a moment before registering that she was walking the wrong way. Her home was in the opposite direction... where he was stood.

Wherever she was headed now was only to avoid him - something she had become just as adept at as she had once been at finding him. He couldn't lose this opportunity he realised, feet spurring into motion with a single thought.

He halted beside the girl, spinning so he faced her. He heard her gasp of surprise as she almost walked into him again but managed to catch herself at the last second. "Amy," he sighed into the wind. "Please, just hear me out."

She blinked and shook her head. "I don't want to hear anything more you have to say Sonic. I've heard everything I need to, so _please_ _…_ " she pleaded, trying to push past him and failing. "Please stop rubbing salt into my wounds."

Sonic bit his lip, reaching forward to place his hands on her shoulders. "I can't just leave Amy. I can see you're hurting and-"

"You know the reason, so why are you still here?"

"Because I care about you. Do you think I like seeing you this way?"

"Stop Sonic," Amy said, voice quivering as she shrugged off his hands. "Don't you understand? You _pretending_ to care is so much worse."

She wrapped her arms around herself as if she was cold. Whatever control she had over her emotions snapped and tears streaked her cheeks. He hated them. Hated the fact that he was responsible for making her hurt all over again. But he needed to set things straight. She had to understand that it was for her.

"Amy, I said what I did _because_ I cared about you. If we were going to die, I didn't care about the sacrifice I was making, I just wanted you to be happy."

Something wild and livid flashed in her eyes at his words and Sonic recoiled at her seething tone.

"Well, I'm sorry Sonic. I'm sorry I'm such a _sacrifice_ for you."

"That's not what I meant -"

"No, what you meant was worse," she said, hastily wiping away the water staining her cheeks. "But what truly hurts the most is that you _knew_ Sonic. All this time you knew exactly how I felt about you and you did nothing. You ignored it until the one moment you felt you could use it to paint yourself as the selfless hero."

"W-what?" Sonic stammered, completely dumbfounded by her accusations. What was she talking about. All he had wanted was to make things easier - being the _hero_ had never even crossed his mind. She had it completely wrong. "That ... that was never what it was about."

"Well you certainly didn't do it for me, otherwise you would have known that I would never want that from you. I would _never_ want you to live a lie. If you're only talking to me now to feel better about yourself then please stop and just leave me the hell alone.

"Ames," Sonic said before he felt a rough hand on his shoulder pull him back a few steps. He turned to see a stony-faced echidna glaring off into the space between both him and Amy, trying exceedingly hard to remain neutral.

"Is everything alright here?" Knuckles said firmly, finally turning to look at Sonic.

The hedgehog hadn't had a chance to catch up with him before now but Knuckles undoubtedly already knew what had gone down between himself and Amy. There was a fiery conflict in those purple eyes that seemed like he both wanted to punch him and hug him at the same time, and Sonic was grateful that he at least could partially see his reasoning.

It seemed like no one else ever would at this point. Especially not the one girl he had done it all for in the first place he thought as Amy stared him down with cold hatred in her eyes.

"Everything's fine Knux. I was just leaving, and Sonic was going to stay exactly where he is. Isn't that right?"

Sonic sighed, shaking off the red echidna's hand and admitting defeat for now. He needed for her to know the truth, but perhaps it was best to give her a little time. Let her emotions settle enough for her to see a different facet of the truth - his truth.

"Actually, I should probably go and find Tails," he said quietly as he turned and began to walk away. "You guys take care," he called over his shoulder, nodding a goodbye at the red echidna as he seamlessly slipped into the retreating crowds around them.

* * *

 _Thanks so much for reading lovelies. Let me know your thoughts so far if you can. Until next time, chao :)_


	3. Chapter 3

**Cataclysm of the Heart**

 **Chapter 3**

* * *

Coughing and spluttering, Sonic lay sprawled on the floor in a lake of water and smashed glass. His chest burned with a vengeful fire at every breath that he pulled from his lungs.

It took a moment for him to remember where he was. A beat longer for him to regain enough semblance of what was happening to lift his head out of the water. Sonic blinked his vision clear as he glanced around the room.

Amy?

He'd seen a flash of pink, he could've sworn it. But a quick scan of the room told him that he was alone. Accompanied by nothing but the subtle beeping and whirring of the machinery around him. Even the jets of water had ceased to spit out that loathsome liquid once the tank had been compromised.

Sonic pushed himself to his feet, shaking the droplets of water out of his quills. His body stung at the movement, and it wasn't until he bothered to look at his arms that he noticed the small scratches across his skin. Some were still beaded with crimson blood - caused by the shards of glass no doubt.

Speaking of glass, _somebody_ had to have broken him out of that damned tank. So where in Mobius were they? He took a small step forward, legs shaking as they struggled to hold his weight with his lack of energy.

He only made it a few steps before his knees gave out under him, and the blue hedgehog was sent crashing to the ground. Sonic groaned as he tried to lift himself up again, pausing in shock as he spotted something pink in his peripheral vision.

It was half-hidden by a desk and the boy squinted to get a better look.

"Amy …" he breathed, body rushing into action.

Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he ran over to her in a panic, pulling the girl into his arms. Amy's chest was rising and falling too slowly for his liking, but at least that meant she was still breathing. She must have been the one to break him free, but how did she end up unconscious on the floor?

"Amy … Amy, you have to get up," Sonic called, shaking the girl gently as he spoke.

The pink hedgehog stirred at the sound of her name. Her emerald eyes fluttered open, glazed and muddled as she came to.

"Sonic?" she said sleepily, voice laced with confusion.

She must have remembered what had happened the next moment though, as the girl jolted up all of a sudden. Fear rippled through her and she stared at Sonic as if not quite believing he was real. "It's me," he clarified with a simple incline of his head.

"Oh," Amy said breathlessly, throwing her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're okay," she murmured, grasping at his quills wildly. As though he might disappear if she held him too loosely.

Normally, Sonic would have extricated himself from her already, but the warmth of her body was the only thing keeping him from shivering on the cold floor. So, he let her hold onto him for as long as she needed, if only this once.

"Do you know where Eggman went?" he asked, talking over the top of her head. The girl shook her head against him, her arms still circling him loosely.

"I don't. I was trying to find him when I saw you in the …" Amy pulled back to glance at where the tank had stood, biting at her lip nervously before giving up on the thought. "Knuckles was following Eggman, but I lost him some-"

A loud whirring buzzed through the air, drowning out the rest of her words. Both hedgehogs turned to the source of the sound, a window at the far end of the room. With only a single shared glance, both heroes were up and headed towards it in an instant.

Sonic couldn't use his speed in his state and stumbled along only to find Amy beside him, slipping a hand around his waist to support him. A grateful warmth burst through him at the action, all of his pain forgotten as the pair headed to the window together.

As they beheld what lay beyond emitting that horrid noise, Sonic's pain was forgotten for another reason entirely.

High in the sky, at a distance Sonic knew even _he_ couldn't reach without help from Tails' plane, was a giant cannon hovering above the world. Eggman's cannon he thought. From the sound it was making, and the sinister way the build up of energy flashed in the barrel, it looked to be mere seconds away from firing.

And it was aimed directly at them.

"Amy, get down!"

Sonic flew towards her as the blast from the cannon speared through the air towards them. They crashed to the ground roughly as a loud boom echoed around them and the base shook with an intense roar.

Sections of panelling fell away from the ceiling and came crashing down around them, and Sonic rolled the pair of them out of its way. He did his best to shield the girl beneath him but with both of them so hurt, the blue hedgehog was struggling.

His mind flitted to the window, but it was no use. The higher parts of the building had already fallen and blocked them from sight completely. There was a loud groaning sound as the ceiling shifted above them, and Sonic's eyes went wide.

A thought lodged itself in the back of his mind and he tried to push it away. But the more Eggman's base crumbled to pieces around them with no way out, the more it fought its way to the forefront of his thoughts.

Falling debris they could avoid easily, but if the base caved in around them then…

The thought refused to be shaken away, flashing at him as bold as anything.

 _They were going to die._

He was sure of it.

The blue hero sent a wild glance at the girl, but Amy just shook her head. It wasn't until she tried to sit up that he realised she was still under him, and he rolled off of her quickly.

"Sorry…" he said, but Amy ignored him.

Her hammer had materialised around her and she hugged Sonic tight as she lifted it above them. It wasn't until the stone and metal came crashing down around them that he realised what she was doing, but an unruly rock knocked him out cold, and Sonic forgot the world for the second time that day.

* * *

Damn him.

Amy stalked angrily through the crowds, her face a mask of stone as she tried to find herself somewhere quiet and empty.

Damn him to the depths of the briniest ocean.

No matter how many times she repeated the phrase in her mind, she felt guilty at the same time. Sonic might have driven a rock right into her heart, but that didn't erase all of her feelings for him.

Love didn't vanish overnight … but neither did anger. And anger was _exhausting_. Hating anything or anybody was exhausting, but it seemed that it was all she could do these days. What else _was_ there to do when she felt so fully broken?

Amy broke out into an empty street and turned into a narrow alley, pressing her back up against the wall and closing her eyes to the world. She took a deep breath, letting the cold air cool her from the inside out.

Why did he have to choose today of all days to confront her?

 _Because you gave him no other choice._

Amy bit her lip as the truth of her own words hit her. She should have been prepared for him to try and talk to her at the vigil, especially when she'd spent so long making sure he had no way of contacting her. To be honest, she wasn't even sure that she hated him.

She had been furious, livid even … but that had passed. She was done being angry at _Sonic_. Especially once she'd realised that there was somewhere else she could redirect her hatred, somewhere where her heart didn't also find its peace.

None of what had gone down with the blue hedgehog would _ever_ have come to fruition without Eggman pulling strings in the background. Whether he was aware of the fact or not, the man had always made sure that things were so dangerous for them that she and Sonic could never be together even if Sonic had returned her feelings.

Eggman was just as responsible for her pain as Sonic was, and she still had plenty of rage simmering inside her to deal him some well-deserved justice.

Without another moment's hesitation, Amy pushed off the wall and made her way out of the city proper – in the direction of Eggman's closest base. She had no idea whether he would be there, or what she would find within and she didn't care. All she knew was that she was going to find him and raise hell.

Amy barely noticed the scratches from the undergrowth as she shoved through the overgrown bushes in her path. Eggman's base lay out of the way for his own privacy reasons, but it had clearly been neglected for a while.

The large metallic building came into view through the bare patches between the branches and Amy pulled out her hammer. With a single swing, she cracked the twigs and they fell to the ground in helpless pieces.

"Eggman!" she yelled as she stood outside the large door. She pushed at it to try and open it, but it was locked tight from within. Plan B, Amy thought as she lifted her hammer in the air. If Eggman wasn't going to let her in, then she would just force her way.

Her hammer slammed against the metal with a ricochet of sound. It vibrated down her arm, but Amy had mastered her weapon enough to not let it bother her as she lifted the hammer to strike once more.

The girl was vaguely aware of a whirring coming from within, but it did nothing to deter her.

The more bots inside the better. She had a lot of feelings to work through and destroying Eggman's precious robots was exactly what she needed right now.

They seemed to emerge from both nowhere and everywhere all at once, surrounding the girl with deadly glints in their robotic eyes. Amy turned on the spot, eyeing them all with a calculating smirk as she swung her hammer around in her fingers.

"Bring it!" she called as she rushed at them, relishing the adrenaline that coursed through her veins.

In combat, she was not the Amy that had let herself be destroyed by a single person. She was not a broken shell of a girl.

She was swiftness.

She was power.

She was a _fighter_.

* * *

 _I'm not so sure how I feel about this chapter, but I do think it was necessary. We're getting closer to the 'thing' that the two hedgies keep alluding to and I'm so excited to finally write it._

 _Thank you so much for reading. Drop me your thoughts if you fancy and until next time, chao :)_


	4. Chapter 4

**Cataclysm of the Heart**

 **Chapter 4**

* * *

Sonic awoke to total darkness, blinking madly as he questioned where he was. For a split second, he found himself wondering what the time was. Something moved beside him and instinctively, he jumped backwards.

Or at least, he attempted to.

He jumped back with his usual force but came to an abrupt halt as he hit his head, hard and fast enough to see stars flashing before him. He groaned in pain, trying to feel the damage with his fingers only to find his hands were trapped by his side.

Panic flickered within him like static. What was going on?

Oh.

OH.

The base. The laser. The ceiling.

Everything flooded back into focus and he blinked into the dark. With the collapsed building around him, there was not a hint of blue sky anywhere to be found. Who knew how much rubble lay atop of him.

Wait, no,

Not him, _them_.

"Amy?" he called, remembering he'd lunged for her right before the rubble came collapsing down around them. There was only silence, and then a soft squeak he hoped wasn't a mouse. "Amy," he called again, hating that he couldn't move, couldn't see.

"Sonic," a voice called out sleepily. And then, with a little more enthusiasm, as if she too had just suddenly remembered their current predicament. "Sonic, are you okay?"

Her voice was mere inches from his own, and it took all his effort to resist the urge to squirm away from her like he usually did. Not that he could move anyway. "I think so. Are you?"

"I can't move, but I'm fine."

That was something at least. The pair of them remaining unharmed was a miracle in itself. "How are we still alive?" he wondered aloud. He wasn't expecting an answer, but Amy piped up regardless.

"My hammer," she said. "It stopped us from getting crushed, but it looks like we're trapped here. If I move it, everything will collapse onto us."

From what he could tell, she was right. Now that he was paying attention, he could feel the handle of the hammer digging into his thigh, and they did seem to be nestled in an air pocket of some kind. An involuntary shiver ran through him as he realised what would have happened had Amy not had the good sense, or skill, to pull her hammer out when she had.

Although, maybe it was all for nothing since it seemed they were stuck down here. Try as he might, he couldn't spin dash them out of here. Not with Amy so close to him. The risk of hurting her wasn't one he would ever take, and that meant that all he could do was sit tight.

In a small enclosed space like this, with the pair of them breathing rapidly, the oxygen wasn't likely to last them very long. Maybe they had hours, maybe they had minutes. Sonic had no idea how long he'd been out to gauge the situation.

"How long have we been down here?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe a while, maybe not? I think I fell asleep or something … I can't remember." There was a momentary pause in her train of thought before she called his name again, a question in the darkness. "Sonic?"

"What is it Amy?"

"How … how are we getting out?"

Her words were like a knife to the gut. He couldn't very well tell her the truth - that this was likely it for them. That even if Tails knew where to find them, the likelihood of him getting to them under all this rubble in time was almost non-existent. If he even could that was. Who knew what havoc Eggman was unleashing on the world beyond.

He had to do something to change the subject. Anything to make the sadness fade in her final moments. If they were both to meet ends, then he would let her meet it with a smile at least. He got a bad feeling in his gut at the thought, but he didn't have time to ponder it. He didn't know how long they had.

"Amy," he said after a long while, voice as gentle as silk. "There's something you need to know."

"Sonic?" she said softly.

It was a blessing that he couldn't see her face. It made saying what he needed to so much easier. He almost changed his mind then, realising that duplicity probably wasn't the best way to go about this. But if he could give her the one thing she had always proclaimed to want the most out of life, surely he could stomach it this once. For her.

"If this is it for us, then … I need you to know the truth. I, uh … I always …," he paused. Sonic was already picturing the joy on her face, the glitter that sparkled in her eyes as he spoke his next words. "I love you Amy."

 _For her._

* * *

"Alright," Tails said quietly. "I think we've done all we can here Sonic. Why don't you move onto the next block and make a start there? I'll catch up with you after my meeting with the mayor. I wanted to talk about more efficient ways to deal with…" He looked around sadly at the wreckage of what once used to be a street of homes.

"Alright bud. I'll see you later."

Tails forced a tight-lipped smile before hovering off in the direction of the town hall. Sonic began the short walk to the next block. There were already other people around helping to clear the rubble from the ground and Sonic joined in alongside them.

Tails.

Perhaps the only friend Sonic still had left, his brother till the very end. Tails had tried to understand what had driven him to do what he had done and held no resentment towards him, but even that hadn't stopped the sheer disappointment that had fallen over him when Sonic had told him the truth about Amy.

Amy.

Where to start with Amy Rose. The one person who had been hurt the most by him when all he'd wanted was for her to be happy. He would never forget the inconsolable despair that had dawned on her when he'd told her the truth. That everything he'd said was a lie.

He'd wanted to be honest with her when they'd realised that Eggman had failed. He hadn't wanted either of them to live a lie, so why did it feel like he was breaking into a thousand pieces anyway.

As he tossed broken beams and crumbling bricks into the large disposal unit, a delivery truck of some sort that once delivered furniture but now only delivered wreckage to a designated place outside the city, the sound of his name drew his attention.

He glanced around, only to find that the sound was coming from above him. He looked up in time to see Cream flying towards him, landing clumsy beside him. He reached a hand out to steady her.

"Sonic! We can't find her anywhere," Cream said breathlessly. He didn't even need to wait for the rabbit to clarify who she was talking about, there was no way it could be anyone other than Amy.

"Hey, hey, hey," he said calmly, grabbing the rabbit by the shoulders. "Take it easy Cream. Tell me what happened?"

"That's just it, we don't know. Everyone saw Amy fight with you, and then she just … disappeared. I haven't heard from her in hours and I'm really worried."

Sonic swallowed, thinking back on their argument at the vigil. What was it she'd said again? _I'm sorry I'm such a sacrifice for you._ Amy knew that wasn't true, she had to. But even still, something twisted inside him like a knot.

"Have you checked she's not home, or at that tea shop she loves?" He wasn't even sure the place was still standing but it was worth a shot.

"She's not there. Believe me Sonic, I've checked everywhere. She was angry and wanted to be alone … I'm worried she's gone off to do something stupid."

Now that was a concept he was intimately familiar with. And try as he might to try and convince himself otherwise, Amy was just like him. She'd need an outlet for her pain. And since he was still standing, that meant that she'd likely gone to possibly the only other person in the world she hated more than him.

"I think I know where she is Cream. Go home and wait for me there. I don't want you getting involved in this."

Cream bit her lip. "She's gone to Eggman hasn't she?" Sonic only gave her a helpless look, hoping they were both wrong.

It took him several stops at abandoned bases before he finally found her, hacking viciously at the bots that were surrounding her. Sonic didn't hesitate to jump in, reducing as many of Eggman's goons to nothing but wires and sparks.

"What are you doing here!" Amy shrieked over the noise of the destruction around them. Her eyes were wild with fury and Sonic almost shrank back as she levelled them at him. He turned away while he still could, crushing another oncoming robot beneath his shoes.

"Helping you," he fired back.

"I think it's pretty clear I don't need your _help_ Sonic!" Another bot succumbed to her hammer, followed by another and another as Amy took her rage out on the metal cases that attacked them.

She was breathing heavily as the final robot fell to the ground before her, wires sparking violently, and with no more robots to attack, Amy rounded on him. She stalked up to him furiously, and he got the distinct feeling that she had been holding her feelings back earlier more for his sake than her own.

"You," she yelled, pressing a finger to his chest. "How dare you try to _help_ me. I have had quite enough of that and I don't need any more of it."

"Yes, you do," he murmured back, half wondering if he had a death wish as Amy's eyes flared angrily. "You don't need to do all _this_ to make your point Amy," he said gesturing around them. "I hurt you, but I did it for you."

"You don't care about me, you just like to pretend you do to sate whatever hero complex you have going on," she said, echoing her own words from the vigil.

"That's not true," Sonic said, a thread of anger coming loose. "I did what I did for you, why can't anybody but me see that?"

The air sizzled with tension and they stared at one another helplessly, realising too late that something was casting a sinister shadow above them. Sonic felt a sudden spark at his back and was conscious long enough to see the shock on Amy's face before he fell face first into the dark void of unconsciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

**Cataclysm of the Heart**

 **Chapter 5**

* * *

Sonic tapped his fingers against the table, drumming out a fast-paced rhythm.

He'd heard that a steady beat could calm raging nerves but so far it was doing nothing for him. If anything, he was inclined to say that the drumming was making him more nervous. Even still, he couldn't stop his fingers from moving.

Two cups of tea sat in front of him, the steam floating off the top in psychedelic swirls. One was his own, and the other for the girl he was meeting here any minute now. He took a careful sip from his cup, not sure if he enjoyed the taste or not before placing it carefully back on the dainty plate on the table.

It seemed a little ridiculous that he was sat in a tea shop of all places. Especially when just days before Eggman had levelled parts of the city with his laser canon. But life was persistent and apparently, so were teashops.

Although the reason why Eggman hadn't finished what he'd started was a mystery that haunted him, his own survival still seemed impossible to comprehend. The base he and Amy had been inside was one of the direct targets of the canon.

He had resigned himself to a slow and inevitable death, and right when he thought he could no longer outrun the eternal sleep that would claim him at last, he had jolted at the sound of a loud and intense whirring.

There had been a bright white light. He remembered that much at least. But then his memory cut out and the next thing he knew, he was lying in a bed that wasn't his and shaking from a fitful dream. Or perhaps it had been a nightmare.

His brother had appeared instantly, those wise beyond their year's eyes sending a burst of calm through his nerves. It hadn't taken much brain power to figure out that Tails had used one of his many inventions to save both him and Amy. This one in particular was a mining prototype that homed in on potential underground resources - although it had served the purpose of digging through the rubble of a building to find two hedgehogs just as well.

Amy had recovered much faster than he had, and the next time he awoke, it was to find her laying curled in a chair beside him. She'd lifted her head drowsily, as if it felt too heavy to be her own, and when she saw him stirring she wept and fell into his stiff arms.

Tails had reappeared at the commotion, glancing between the two of them in confusion, before catching them up on the dire state of their world. Sonic barely heard Tails through the thrum of his own blood in his ears, angry at both Eggman and at himself as the events before the rescue came into clarity.

Eggman might have razed his world, but Sonic was about to raze whatever part of the girl in his arms was still left standing.

Now, here he was, sipping tea and selfishly focusing on his own problems instead of the people who had been hurt and displaced by Eggman's attack. He would help them. He would. Right after he fixed his biggest mistake to date.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, the guilt of his own actions sliding down his gullet like oil. He glanced at the time on his communicator and his fingers stilled. It was six o'clock on the dot and Amy Rose was never late, which meant ...

He turned to the door, straining to hear any movement on the other side and sure enough he could hear the soft thud of footsteps. Sure, it could have been just another patron of the tea shop, but he knew better.

This was it.

Sonic clutched the spoon in his hand a little tighter.

The bell above the door tinkled lightly and he stood, the spoon clattering to the table as he turned to see a pink figure closing the door behind her. She greeted the lady at the counter with a small sad smile stretched across her lips before noticing him.

Her eyes lit up, the smile widening a fraction.

Sonic struggled to return it.

"Hey," she said quietly, and he ignored the clenching in his chest. She brushed her lips against his cheeks before sitting, and Sonic let her.

He let her have these last few moments.

It was the least he could do before he shattered her heart in his clumsy fingers.

* * *

"No."

Amy glared at him, her green eyes narrow and intense. She sat across from him, slumped against one of the four glass walls that caged them into a box-like prison.

After waking up in an otherwise empty room, the pair had exhausted all options of escape. They were tired and woozy, likely from whatever drug had knocked them out clean, and completely out of options.

"What? I didn't even say anything," Sonic grumbled in response, trying to find a more comfortable position on the hard metal floor beneath them. What else was there to do except sit and wait for their captor to show up.

"You were about to, I can see it on your face," she snapped back. "We have to get out of this stupid cage, and that is the _only_ thing we're going to talk about."

Sonic couldn't help but agree, at least with part of her statement.

As it happened, he found there was absolutely nothing else he wanted to talk to her about. He was too annoyed to hold a normal conversation, and she had been very clear that the one thing he _was_ open to talking about was off limits.

The anger from their last encounter outside the base was still simmering under his skin, searching for a way out. The last thing he needed was to start a fight with Amy in an enclosed space. That wouldn't end well for either of them.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence that made the tension between them painfully obvious, even to Sonic's normally oblivious self. In an attempt to distract himself, Sonic decided to focus on anything but her.

It would have been much easier if there were other things in the room he thought with irritation before checking himself. What had the world come to when all he could find to do was criticise Eggman's interior decor?

Finally, Sonic settled for staring blankly at the wall behind Amy. Perhaps it was his unquiet mind, but did it seem like the room was shaking? He narrowed his gaze. It was almost as if the room was on an unstable surface, or even in the air. There were no windows to confirm his theory but before he could ponder it further, Amy's voice cut into his thoughts.

"What do you think happened?"

"What?" he said, shaking himself back to reality. If he remembered correctly, _she_ was the one who decided that they couldn't talk about what happened with them. So why was she bringing it up now?

"Sonic. What do you think happened?" she repeated again.

Sonic glared at the ground beneath his feet in confusion. "Well, I think that I ruined things by-" He was cut off abruptly by a visceral groan and glanced up to see Amy rolling her eyes dramatically.

"Not between _us._ I meant with Eggman," she said pointedly. "The first time, he only fired his canon twice. Tails said he could have blasted the entire planet to smithereens and yet… he stopped. What do you think happened?"

There was a pause.

"I don't know Amy. I really don't. But I suppose we'll find out soon enough," Sonic sighed. "Where is he anyway?" he said, glancing behind at the door in the wall, the only adornment in the otherwise blank and lifeless room. It looked to be of solid metal and had no window to see through.

He turned back to the girl beside him and they fell instant into that weird silence again, tense and unforgiving. Sonic was starting to go crazy with all the unspent words and energy and anger. He tapped his foot on the ground in a fast-paced rhythm, and when that wasn't distraction enough, he began to tap the back of his head against the glass wall behind him.

"Oh, for god's sake, will you cut that out."

"Can't," Sonic said, refusing to elaborate further. The only way to get himself to calm down would be to clear the air between them, which wasn't likely to happen.

"Look, we don't have anywhere to run-"

"Don't I know it."

"This isn't the best place Sonic," Amy said, less angry and more sulkier than she had been outside of Eggman's base.

This wasn't the best place; he knew that and felt a twinge of annoyance towards her. But nowhere was, so what difference would it make.

"I know, but what else is there to do right now?" he replied, feeling a note of bitterness creep into his tone.

There was a moment's pause and then he heard shuffling. He glanced up to see Amy moving to sit beside him with a strange look on her face. "Fine," she said, turning to stare at the wall he'd been eyeing for the past twenty minutes. "We can talk, but on one condition."

"What's the condition?" he asked. Sonic knew he'd give anything to be able to fix things with Amy, nothing was too great a price. Heck, his running be damned if it meant this girl before him would stop looking at him like he'd shredded her soul every time she laid eyes on him.

"I'm so tired Sonic, of being lied to and of hurting all the time. I'm done hearing excuses and apologies from you, I really am. Just this once, promise you won't lie to me."

"I promise."

She met his gaze. Green on green. The same and yet, so distinctly their own that to call them that would be to say that the dull green of the grass was equal to the polished shine of jade.

"Tell me the truth," she said softly. "Tell me why you said what you did."

An irrational wave of anger washed over Sonic as he took in her words. Every word he'd said to her since the incident _had_ been the truth. It still was, so why was she sat there acting like all he ever did was spew lies to her his entire life.

"Truth?" he said with a low chuckle that lacked all warmth. "What do you _think_ the truth is Amy?"

She shifted away from him a little and Sonic was glad for the space. He knew he should have stopped speaking right there and then whilst he still could, but he didn't.

"Do you think I'm happy that I hurt you? Is that it? Because I'm not. I could never be happy about hurting you, and the fact that you could even _think_ that is ..." He clenched his fists, fighting with his next words. "I hate myself for what I did Amy."

Amy's eyes widened in shock at his admission. He could see the pain flitting through them as plain as the truth on his lips but now that he finally had her full attention, it was like the dam had broken. He couldn't stop the words from pouring out of his mouth as fast as he could run.

"Is that the truth you've been waiting to hear Amy, that I _hate myself_ for ever thinking it was okay to pretend at loving you to make you feel better. To make you feel safer when we should have died? Well, congratulations, you got what you wanted. We can form a damn club now. You and Eggman can fight each other for president but I'll be the honorary member."

"That's not fair," Amy spat back, heat rising in her own voice. "You don't get to make this about you and how you're hurting."

"Maybe not, but I am hurting Amy. I'm hurting and nobody cares that I'm sorry for my lack of judgement in a moment I thought I might not live to see another day, least of all you."

Amy blinked hard, her eyes shining with tears she refused to shed. She opened her mouth to respond but before she could, the door slammed open and Eggman waltzed into the room, an obvious spring in his step.

The two hedgehogs jumped up in unison, pressing closer to one another in a defensive manoeuvre, all their hate and hurt and everything in between put aside in favour of their shared disdain of the man that stood before them.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't two of the most loathsome beings in existence. Having fun in there?"

Sonic worked his jaw, keeping his smart mouth shut for a change. Maybe it was their expressions, or perhaps he had been listening to their argument outside the door, but it was clear from the glee on the old man's face that he knew things were rocky between him and the girl beside him.

"What are you planning Eggman?" Amy asked, also refusing to heed his previous question.

Eggman tutted softly, wagging a finger in their direction. "Now, now. Let's not be so hasty to get to the main event and spoil all my fun. Why don't we talk about you two and why you've been amusing me so for the past five minutes, trouble in paradise?" he said with snort.

He _had_ heard everything.

Sonic risked a side-ward glance at Amy and found her baring her teeth at the man. Good, at least her anger was directed away from him for the time being. Let Eggman bear the brunt force of that particular aggression for a change.

"What are you planning?" Amy repeated shortly.

"I'm more interested in hearing your little lovers spat," Eggman continued, linking his hands beneath his chin.

"Answer her!" Sonic said through gritted teeth. The world was on the line. There wasn't a chance in hell he was going to sit around wasting precious time talking to this man about his love life, or lack thereof.

"Oh alright, you spoilsports. I'll give," he said, thin lips twisted into a smirk. "Besides, it can't be that hard to work out after my first thwarted attempt. I'll admit, my power systems chose an inopportune moment to cut out and I had to replace several of my generators over the past week or so, but this time, my canons are fool proof. This time, they won't spare a soul."

"You're going to blow Mobius apart," Sonic finished, swallowing hard only to find his throat bone dry.

"Exactly!" the man said happily. "And at the heart of the action, you two will get a front row seat. Of course, you'll also be the first to die but I'm sure your ghosts will languish at the sight you'll see below you. In fact, I'm counting on it."

"You'll never get away with this," Sonic seethed, his hands crushed into tight fists.

"Oh, I already have Sonic. After I leave here, I'll be well on my way to a completely different planet. One with plentiful resources, and no pests like you about to ruin my fun. But rest assured, I'll look back fondly at the dust and ashes of Mobius that float around the cosmos."

"You're a monster!" Amy screamed, her eyes flashing wildly as her hammer appeared at her side. She smacked it against the cage, but just like they'd tried earlier, it glanced harmlessly off the glass. Eggman stepped back in alarm before composing himself, a blank mask falling across his face as he ignored the seething pink hedgehog in favour of Sonic.

"It was a displeasure having known you hedgehog. I'd stick around and chat, but I really don't care to be blown to bits with you," he said, heading towards the open door. He spared them one smirk before the door shut with a metallic clang, the locking mechanism clicking into place.

"Damn it, we have to get out of here. We have to _do_ something," Sonic growled, banging his fist helplessly against the glass. Amy laid a gentle hand over his to still him.

"What are we supposed to do Sonic? We don't even know where we are," she said, a tone of helplessness crawling into her words.

Sonic worked his jaw, his gaze falling to the metal wall behind her again. "No. We do know," he said suddenly, remembering his earlier thoughts. "Eggman said we'd get a front row seat to the destruction, right?"

"Right…?" she agreed, not quite following.

"And didn't he say we'd see the destruction _below_ us."

Amy nodded, her eyes alight with realisation. "There's only one place we could be."

"We're in the cannon," they said in unison.


End file.
